2 year old cat having liver troubles

[ThierryEnnui]

Feel hopelessly anxious and scared for my sweet 2 year old girl who is in hospital overnight with something wrong with her liver. She initially presented 2 days ago with lethargy and was off her food. Took her in on the day, she had a 40° fever and was given antibiotics and anti inflammatory and sent home. Initial blood work (which I was told checks for emergencies) was fine. Monitored her and took her back in this morning for a follow up as she hadn’t shown signs of improvement.

Vet did a full blood profile which showed a number of elevations (none too drastic, but of concern anyway) in her liver enzymes amongst a few others. An ultrasound has shown some bright patches on her liver indicating some infection/inflammation. They’re keeping her in to rehydrate her as she’s understandably very dehydrated and are administering intravenous antibiotics too.

The vet seemed to suggest this may be a chronic problem that I’ll need to treat for some months, with possibility of recurrence. She’s not given me an official diagnosis but it’s clearly something awry in the liver. I’m terrified for my poor girl, she’s such a happy, active, healthy cat and this has totally come by surprise.

I know she’s in the best hands but I’m so wobbly and anxious and terrified that this will be life limiting. Has anyone been through anything similar with young cats?

Hi OP. I'm so sorry you ae going tbrough this.
I've not had experience of liver problems in a young cat, but my 7 year old cat has been really ill since bonfire night with cat flu and gastric problems.
I really sympathise with you. I hope your girl feels better soon. Hugs and flowers for you.

Thank you, Clarich, that is so kind of you. I’m so sorry your cat is poorly too. It is so gut wrenching, isn’t it Has the vet given you a prognosis?

My cat had jaundice when she had triaditis/ pancreatitis. She was critically I'll for a week. She made a full recovery after IV antibiotics, fluids and very strong pain killers. She was 5 at the time. She's now 11.

No one expected her to survive. But she did!

Mine went in with query triaditis, dehydrated, everything looking awful basically. They scanned him and thought it might be lymphoma. He wouldn't eat either
Two days later he had them hand feeding him roast chicken and a week after, blood results all "astoundingly normal" and they put it down to "a weird Ollie illness"
He is a bit dramatic but he was really poorly with it and came home with his belly, chest and legs shaved!

Thank you both for the reassuring stories and so glad your cats returned to good health after their episodes

Honestly I rang the out of hours vet and said he's really unwell. Out of hours "yes yes he is"
He stayed with them, then went to my own vet who said "well yes he is unwell but he's also being very dramatic and cried when we offered him boiled chicken"

It's very scary. I have spent 7 weeks cleaning him up, bathing both ends and dealing with truly awful litter trays 7-8 times a day. Aside from the worry of course.
Thanks for asking. He's had bloods and samples tested, turns out he's picked up a nasty virus as well as cat flu which has knocked him for 6.He's fully vaccinated too.
I really hole your girl is well soon and it's not as bad as you thought.
I posted on here a few weeks ago, and haad some lovely caring replies.I must admit it kept me going through a difficult time. Sorry I can't offer any advice though. Keep us posted. Look after yourself too.

MaybeHelsmyCat.
Lol that really made me laugh about the boiled chicken 😂😁

@Clarich007

MaybeHelsmyCat. Lol that really made me laugh about the boiled chicken 😂😁

He's such a brat. They rang me to say they had nipped down the road to the shop, and he would eat if they cuddled him and hand fed him chicken from the rotisserie counter "he could just about manage"

Oh bless him, he sounds lovely

Popping back in here with an update, in the hope it might reassure anyone who finds themselves on this thread days, weeks or years down the line!

The diagnosis was liver toxicity - essentially some sort of poisoning that causes an 'acute injury' to the liver. I'll never be sure what has caused it, but my suspicion is that there was some leftover disinfectant on the patio that she walked across and most likely then licked her paws. Other possibilities are hepatotoxic plants in the garden, but I'm doubtful, as the garden has always hosted cats and no similar incidents have happened previously!

Small cat has been treated with steroids, antibiotics and she's had a feeding tube put in. I'm feeding her recovery fluids 4 times a day (surprisingly easy, and the added bonus is that I can crush her medication up and that can go in the tube too, rather than battling to administer pills into her mouth!). She's recovering amazingly well - tbh if it weren't for the fetching tube strapped to her she'd look like her normal self and her lovely personality has returned. I'm taking her in for another blood profile tomorrow, which will show whether or not the liver enzymes have returned to normal (all being well, they should have done) and that will be considered a full recovery with no long-term implications.

I'm so relieved - it was terrifying - but the moral of the story is cats can and do recover well from liver injury, and also be extra careful what they might be trampling over and accidentally ingesting!

That's good news. My cat also came home with a feeding tube. But I only used it for a few days. Before I realised that filling her up with milk was stopping her from eating. I found it much easier than tube feeding a baby. Even though I did forget to ask how much to give her. I was amazed how big the tube was when it was taken out!

So pleased to hear your news, you must be so relieved